Does Healthy breakfast ensures academic success?
Mary Pat Alfaro, education
coordinator in Nutrition Therapy at Cincinnati Children’s, explains multiple
studies have shown that poor nutrition adversely effects school performance and
overall achievement.
Improving health and nutrition in undernourished children is correlated with
less absenteeism, more grades and better performance in tests, the researcher
said. The research published in the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association in 2005 compiled the results of many studies about the benefits of
breakfast.
Evidence from the report suggests that eating breakfast may improve cognitive
function related to memory, test grades and attendance. Breakfast in
combination with an overall healthy diet and lifestyle can make a positive
difference in a child’s health and well-being.
Parents should provide breakfast for their children or enroll them in the
school breakfast program if eligible and available. “Providing healthy food
to children can contribute to a better year
academically, physically and socially,” says Mary.
She says a healthy breakfast consists of a variety of foods, especially
high-fiber and nutrient-rich whole grains, fruits, and dairy products. Such
breakfast examples include fiber rich and whole-grain cereals with low fat
milk, yogurt and berries, toast, eggs and 100 per cent fruit juice and whole
wheat bagels and cream cheese with low fat milk.
In addition to making sure their child eats a healthy breakfast, Mary says
parents need to also think about the types of food their child eats during
lunch
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